U-M EXPELLING STUDENT FOR INTERNET FANTASY
By Judson Branam
c. The Ann Arbor NEWS
The University of Michigan is expelling a student who wrote a graphic
fantasy of rape and torture that named a fellow student, then
transmitted the story over Internet. The author also may face federal
obscenity charges.
U-M officials first learned of the postings from a U-M alumnus who is
an attorney in Moscow. He reportedly saw the Jan. 9 story involving a
female U-M student posted in a file reserved for sex stories, then
complained to the University's computer network officials.
The author of the fantasy, U-M sophomore Jake Baker, prefaced his
stories with a disclaimer saying they contained "lots of sick stuff,"
and he signed his real name to the postings.
The story - titled with the woman's last name - describes torture with
a hot curling iron, mutilation, and sodomy of a woman who is gagged
and tied to a chair. The story ends with Baker lighting a match, as
if to torch the woman's apartment, and telling her goodbye.
It was the inclusion of the other student's name in the graphically
violent sex fantasy that made the matter more serious, said Captain
James Smiley of the U-M Department of Public Safety.
"He was asked to leave, and he's outta here," Smiley said. "We think
it's a very serious matter. When he named a student, that put a
different light on it - he's just not fantasizing any more."
But Baker's attorney, David Cahill of Ann Arbor, said it was just a
fantasy.
"This guy has never, ever threatened or contacted this woman in any
way," Cahill said. We think it's unwarranted punishment for pure
speech. A rather violent and pornographic story, yes, but we don't
think he has a problem. We think he has an active imagination."
U-M officials would only say Thursday that Baker, who is listed in
University telephone and computer records, is not a student at the
University. They cited a federal privacy law baring the discussion of
student records.
Baker said he willingly cooperated with University and law enforcement
officials over the posting, including undergoing evaluation from
psychiatrists at the U-M Medical Center.
"I regret posting all the stories in general," he said today, "and I
deeply regret any harm I've done to her or anyone else. I'm more than
willing to make up whatever harm I've done, but not to leave the
University."
Baker said he met with housing officials Monday, and was asked for a
follow-up session early Thursday.
After he refused to meet because he had an exam and hadn't found legal
counsel, he said, a plainclothes DPS officer and two housing department
officers were waiting for him when he came out of his class. He was
handed a notice of suspension, then taken back to his dorm room to
quickly grab some clothes. He spent Thursday night in a local hotel
room, and he and Cahill met with housing officials today.
Baker was suspended under an emergency order from U-M President James
J. Duderstadt, acting with authority of a bylaw of the U-M Board of
Regents that allows him to take necessary actions to keep order on
campus. Cahill said he believes this route was used because the
University didn't have a strong enough case to pursue the matter under
the more commonly used Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities.
"The University has taken on the job of literary critic, and decided
it's a campus emergency," Cahill said. "I think they've overreacted to
something that's constitutionally protected."
But university suspension may be only the start of the Boardman, Ohio
native's troubles.
"The University contacted the FBI after it identified the student
putting the snuff stories on the Internet, and we are looking at
whether there was a violation of the federal obscenity statute," said
FBI Special Agent Gregory Stejskal of the bureau's Ann Arbor office.
"We're looking into the possibility of charging him with distribution
of obscene material."
Congress recently added computer trafficking to pornography laws, and
Stejskal said this case is a new wrinkle in policing the rapidly
growing worldwide network of computer systems. Violation of the law is
a felony that carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.
"If its not the first," Stejskal said, "it's gotta be close to being
the first case under it."
END STORY
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